


Time

by AngelynMoon



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Other, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), not quite though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 05:29:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19739257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelynMoon/pseuds/AngelynMoon
Summary: There's never enough time is there?





	Time

"You know the worst part? I thought I had nothing to lose." Steve whispered as he sat next to Bucky in the wake of Tony's funeral, " I thought... I thought that there was nothing left for me to lose, you know? I'd lost you, lost Sam, that was pretty much everything. It never crossed my mind that ....that I could lose them, lose Natasha and ...and ..." Steve couldn't say his name, wasn't worthy to say his name anymore, no matter what Thor's hammer implied.

Bucky put a hand on Steve's thigh and Steve looked at him.

"You know...someone has to take the stones back." Bucky said softly, "You could save Peggy for last, stay, have a life with her."

"Buck, no..." Steve shook his head, "She...she had a life, I can't, I can't take that from her...even if I wanted to."

"You don't?"

"She's not the person I'm in love with anymore. Yes, I'll always love her. You don't really stop loving your first, not really but... I can't take the life she made without me from her."

"But you won't be happy here." Bucky shook his head when Steve went to protest, "You don't gotta worry about me, Stevie, I got Sam and T'Challa and Shuri in my corner. You spent your life fighting bullies and for others, for me." Bucky looked at Steve and smiled a little sadly at the tears in his friend's eyes, "Be selfish...just this once. Be selfish."

Steve paused, "Yeah, okay, Buck."

\---

Steve made his way to the top of the mountain on Vormir, Bucky's words still ringing in his ears.

He'd saved this stone for last, had his missed dance with Peggy before leaving her. It'd been late, she was tired, in the morning she'd think it a dream and that's all it had ever been, all they would ever be, a dream.

"A soul for a soul." Schmidt sneered at him.

"I'm returning it, so I get the soul that traded for it back." Steve stared at Schmidt, who paused and inclined his head.

Steve stared at the innocent looking stone.

"And I'd like an exchange as well." 

'Be selfish," Bucky's voice echoed, 'just this once.'

But how could he? How could he be selfish, that's what had brought him here in the first place, his selfish want fir Bucky to come back, for Sam.

He'd already been selfish once, now it was time for him to do what was right.

"An exchange." Schmidt agreed.

\---

"Tony?" Natasha asked as she looked around and spotted the man in the same pool as she was in.

"What happened?" Tony frowned at her.

"I don't..." Natasha shook her head. "We need to get back to Earth. Is Thanos...did it work?"

"I don't know what happened. I think I died." Tony whispered, clenching his fist, frowning when he felt an object in his hand, frown deepening when he opened his hand to reveal a small Starkdrive, "Let's go home."

Tony had a feeling the Drive held their answers.

\--

"Hey, Tony. It's been awhile or well, I don't know anymore, time's a funny thing, you always think there's more of it. More time, another chance, and you think that until suddenly there's no more time left, no more chances." the man on the screen paused, looked away and then looked back with a forced smile, "I thought I'd have more time. Time to apologize properly, rebuild our friendship, especially when you agreed to help is. I thought there would be time.

"But there wasn't, there wasn't anytime and I'm sorry." Steve sighed, "I've returned most of the stones, I've stopped some where after the Chitarii yo make this recording. I've finally made a decision.

"Bucky told me to be selfish. But I did that already. I did that when I went to you and asked you to help us, I did that when I chose Bucky.

"I'm done being selfish." Steve smiled at him, tears in his eyes, "That little girl of yours, Tony, I never did ask her name, she deserves her dad, and Peter too. Just...promise me you won't ....promise me that you won't take time for granted, not like I did.

"Metal and the suits can wait, your little girl's ballet recital, Peter's science fair, those are the moments that you can't get back.

"There's never enough time unless you chose to make the most of what time you've got.

"Make the most of your time with them, Tony, let your family come first.

"Be selfish, give them time, give them you." The recording stopped and Tony waited for more but nothing came and Tony rubbed at the indent of his chest where the Reactor once was.

Tony shook his head, he understood now why the recording had been marked for his eyes only. But what was he supposed to tell people? How could he tell them that Captain America gave his life in exchange for his?

Something flickered on the screen and Tony clicked on the blinking icon.

"Hey, you're probably wondering what to tell people about me." Steve said from another recording, "Tell them I went back, tell them I stayed with Peggy. That I grew old, had a life. Lie to them, Tony, give them the happy ending they wanted for me and make it real for yourself, do that for me.

"I'm watching for it." Steve smiled, it was almost a happy smile, even with the tears spilling from his eyes, "Be happy, Tony, you deserve it."

So Tony lied to the world, gave Steve Rogers a happy life that never existed and made the most of the time that he'd been given, made a happy life with his family.

And he thought, sometimes, that Steve was right, there was never enough time.

\---

A/n: as i was typing this up i realized that parts of this could be read as Steve loving Tony and giving Tony back to his family because Steve knows that Tony won't love him back.

Surprisingly i did not intend for that and i'm blaming the fact that i've been reading a lot of Tony/Steve and leaving it at that.

I'm sorry if that was not the fix-it you wanted and i'm slightly sorry of you cried but i hoped that you liked it or well that you read to the end at least.

If you want a fluffy sort of fix-it i have a series called Secrets where Morgan Stark time travels and takes up the name Darcy Lewis to learn about her father and ends up making a new time stream.


End file.
